Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Death Valley

Folds and Gullies, Zabriskie Point

Leave a comment
Folds and Gullies, Zabriskie Point

Folds and Gullies, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pastel colors of folds and gullies at Zabriskie Point in early morning light, Death Valley National Park, California.

Another in my 2008 series of photographs of the tortuously folded formations below Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. The colors in this photograph are more muted than in some of the others, partially due to the early light but also due to (if I recall correctly) a bit of high overcast. And, to be frank, photographers often boot the contrast and saturation quite a bit in their photographs of this area – so I thought I’d try a natural approach here that shows the pastel shades.

keywords: zabriskie, point, folds, gullies, abstract, shape, morning, early, light, shadow, pastel, death valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, desert, barren

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Three Birds and Rocks

Leave a comment
Three Birds and Rocks

Three Birds and Rocks. Point Lobos, California. November 30, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of three birds on rugged rocks with winter surf beyond – Point Lobos, California.

Another photograph from my brief excursion to Point Lobos last weekend, on a morning of very high winter surf and backlit fog. Three small birds perch on rugged coastal rocks with the churning coastal waters beyond.

keywords: black and white, silhouette, rocks, ridge, mist, fog, atmosphere, recession, wave, surf, ocean, sea, bay, birds, three, gulls, light, foam, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, landscape, seascape, coast, shore, pacific, ocean, winter, scenic, travel, monterey, peninsula, big sur, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Tree, Morning Light

Leave a comment
Autumn Tree, Morning Light

Autumn Tree, Morning Light. Calero Hills, California. November 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A singe leafless tree on a grassy hillside in morning light – Calero Hills, California.

A week ago I spent the morning at one of my favorite nearby locations, the oak and grassland hills of Calero Park south of San Jose, California. This is a place I visit frequently. On this trip I did something a bit different. Although I tend to shoot more with wide angle to normal focal length lenses, on this morning I went out with the 100-400mm zoom attached to my camera. Initially this was because I hoped to photograph an egret that often hangs out at a pond I would pass early on the hike, but as I continued I decided to find out what I could "see" with this different lens.

This is a subtle photograph – and I’m afraid that the details in the branches of the tree that make it work at a larger size are not really visible here. The photo was shot at 400mm – yes a 400mm landscape photo! The long lens produced a very narrow depth of field so – in the print at least – both foreground and background are thrown a bit out of focus, accentuating the sharp shapes of the small side-lit branches on the tree.

keywords: tree, oak, fall, autumn, grass, meadow, forest, tree, light, morning, branches, hill, ridge, calero, california, usa, santa clara county, san jose, park, bay area, nature, follage, landscape, scenic, stock

Photographs: Death Valley

Folds and Gullies in Morning Light, Zabriskie Point

Leave a comment
Folds and Gullies in Morning Light, Zabriskie Point

Folds and Gullies in Morning Light, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light illuminates complex folds and gullies at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

I was reminded of these photographs recently when I read a discussion thread on photographing the amazing formations at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park, and I went back to look through some of my images from a previous trip that I had not reviewed recently.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: zabriskie, point, morning, light, fold, gully, hill, color, mountain, desert, dry, erosion, eroded, brown, tan, red, shadow, scenic, travel, landscape, death valley, national park, california, usa, stock, curve